Bitcoin: Elon Musk loses world’s richest title as Tesla falters

Bitcoin: Elon Musk loses world’s richest title as Tesla falters

image copyrightReuters

image captionA surge in Tesla shares first made Elon Musk the world's richest man in January

Tesla boss Elon Musk has lost his title as the world's richest person after a recent slide in the electric carmaker's shares, the main driver of his wealth.

Tesla shares have tumbled more than 20% since hitting a high of more than $880 in early January.

The fall comes as the firm has been hit with criticism from Chinese regulators and revealed a risky $1.5bn (£1bn) investment in Bitcoin.

The value of the cryptocurrency jumped nearly 50% after the disclosure.

But since rising above $57,000 on Sunday, Bitcoin has dropped nearly 20%. It was trading at less than $48,000 on Tuesday.

While that might not have hurt Tesla - Bitcoin is still worth more than it was when the firm disclosed its bet - the risks associated with the volatile cryptocurrency could have prompted some investors to sell, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said.

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"By Musk and Tesla aggressively embracing Bitcoin... investors are starting to tie Bitcoin and Tesla at the hip," he said.

"The recent 48-hour sell-off in Bitcoin and added volatility has driven some investors to the exits on this name in the near-term."

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